Ayurvedic Cleanse - Lunch - Indian Spiced Millet & Pumpkin

Millet is a lighter version of Pongal. This Indian cleansing recipe is very satisfying and soothing. The ancient grains are very filling and have high protein content.

This Indian Millet recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

⅓ cup/60g millet

1 ½ cups water

1 tsp ghee

1 cup pumpkin, cut into 1 cm cubes

1 tsp finely grated ginger

Voggarane:

1 Tblsp ghee

½ tsp fennel seeds

6 fresh curry leaves, roughly torn

½ cup finely chopped fennel

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ - 1 tsp fine rock salt

few rounds of freshly ground pepper

1 tsp jaggery/brown sugar

freshly chopped coriander

To Serve:

Ghee

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fresh Coriander Leaves

Preparation:

Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, peel and chop into 1 cm cubes - measuring 1 cup. Set aside.

Remove the fronds and stem from the fennel and finely chop - measuring half a cup. Set aside.

Wash and drain the millet and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Pour in 1 ½ cups water and 1 teaspoon of ghee, chopped pumpkin, grated ginger then bring to a rapid boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes until most of the water has evaporated, then cover the pot, turn off the heat and leave undisturbed for approximately 5 minutes.

While waiting for the millet to cook toast the pumpkin seeds over medium heat until they pop. Set aside and prepare the voggarane.

For the voggarane:

Heat ghee in a small saucepan or skillet, add the cumin seeds and fresh curry leaves. Allow to sizzle for a few seconds, swishing the pan for the spices to fry evenly, stir in the chopped fennel and saute with the spices until soft, then add the turmeric powder. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Once the millet is cooked, stir the voggarane in the millet, add salt, few rounds of fresh pepper, jaggery and fresh coriander - mix well. Allow to sit, covered for a few minutes before serving. Taste adding more sweet or salt.

To serve, divide into bowls, drizzle with ghee and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds and finely chopped coriander.

Suggestions:

Try to find the very small grain (foxtail millet) as opposed to the bigger commonly found millet, which can be quite dry when cooked. The foxtail millet is much finer and softly moist when cooked.

This dish can be made with quinoa, rice or any grain of your choice - the cooking times may vary.

To bring out millet’s flavour, dry-toast it over medium-heat for 4-5 minutes, then wash and proceed with the recipe.

Soak the millet in the evening for a quick morning preparation. (Lessen the water by ¼ cup)